Gaming systems that provide players awards in primary or base games are well known. These gaming systems generally require a player to place a wager to activate a play of the primary game. For many of these gaming systems, any award provided to a player for a wagered-on play of a primary game is based on the player obtaining a winning symbol or a winning symbol combination and on an amount of the wager (e.g., the higher the amount of the wager, the higher the award). Winning symbols or winning symbol combinations that are less likely to occur typically result in higher awards being provided when they do occur.
For such known gaming systems, an amount of a wager placed on a primary game by a player may vary. For instance, a gaming system may enable a player to wager a minimum quantity of credits, such as one credit (e.g., in monetary currency, one penny, nickel, dime, quarter, or dollar; in non-monetary currency, one point, credit, coin, token, free play credit, or virtual buck), up to a maximum quantity of credits, such as five credits. The gaming system may enable the player to place this wager a single time or multiple times for a single play of the primary game. For instance, a gaming system configured to operate a slot game may have one or more paylines, and the gaming system may enable a player to place a wager on each of the paylines for a single play of the slot game. Thus, it is known that a gaming system, such as one configured to operate a slot game, may enable players to place wagers of substantially different amounts on each play of a primary game. For example, the amounts of the wagers may range from one credit up to 125 credits (e.g., five credits on each of twenty-five separate paylines). This is also true for other wagering games, such as video draw poker, in which players can place wagers of one or more credits on each hand, and in which multiple hands can be played simultaneously. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that different players play at substantially different wager amounts or levels and substantially different rates of play.
Bonus or secondary games are also known in gaming systems. Such gaming systems usually provide an award to a player for a play of one such bonus game in addition to any awards provided for any plays of any primary games. Bonus games usually do not require an additional wager to be placed by the player to be initiated. Bonus games are typically initiated or triggered upon an occurrence of a designated triggering symbol or designated triggering symbol combination in the primary game. For instance, a gaming system may initiate or trigger a bonus game when a bonus symbol occurs on the payline on the third reel of a three reel slot machine. The gaming systems generally indicates when a bonus game is initiated or triggered through one or more visual and/or audio output devices, such as the reels, lights, speakers, display screens, etc. Part of the enjoyment and excitement of playing certain gaming systems is the initiation or triggering of a bonus game, even before the player knows an amount of a bonus award won via the bonus game.
Certain known gaming systems provide a bonus opportunity, such as a play of a bonus game or an outcome-enhancing feature, upon an occurrence of a mystery triggering event. The mystery triggering event is not displayed to the player and, therefore, the player is unaware of the occurrence of the mystery triggering event, how often the mystery triggering event occurs, the different types of available bonus opportunities associated with the mystery triggering event, and the like.
Various commercially available gaming systems enable players to play more than one wagering game simultaneously. Certain of these gaming systems enable players to play multiple plays of a same wagering game simultaneously, plays of different wagering games simultaneously, or both. Providing a gaming system in which a player may play a plurality of plays of one or more wagering games at once enhances player enjoyment and excitement by reducing the boredom and monotony of playing a single play of the same wagering game several consecutive times at the same gaming system.
Gaming systems that provide games having cascading symbols features are also known. For one such game employing a cascading symbols feature, a gaming system generates and displays a plurality of symbols at a plurality of symbol display areas. The gaming system evaluates the displayed symbols and provides an award for each formed winning symbol combination (if any). The gaming system then removes the displayed symbols that form the winning symbol combination(s) to create one or more empty symbol display areas. The gaming system repositions or shifts zero, one, or more of the remaining displayed symbols into zero, one, or more of the empty symbol display areas. If any empty symbol display areas remain, the gaming system generates and displays a symbol at each empty symbol display area. The gaming system reevaluates the displayed symbols and provides an award for each formed winning symbol combination. The gaming system repeats the steps of removing generated symbols, repositioning or shifting generated symbols, generating new symbols, and evaluating the generated symbols. Repeating the steps as described increases player excitement and enjoyment by providing awards for winning symbol combinations not available after the initial generation of symbols. However, the lack of symbol repositioning (i.e., cascading) that occurs when displayed symbols are removed from a top row of symbol display areas is frustrating for certain players and may detract from what should otherwise be an exciting feature.
Various players continually seek out new and different variations to gaming systems. A continuing need thus exists for gaming systems and methods that provide new, exciting, and engaging games, such as games including new and different cascading symbols features, and that enable players to play multiple games at once.